History of ancient Egypt

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Dynasties of Ancient Egypt

All years are BC

Early[show]

Old Kingdom[show]

First Intermediate[show]

Middle Kingdom[show]

Second Intermediate[show]

New Kingdom[show]

Third Intermediate[show]

Late Period[show]

Ptolemaic (Hellenistic)[show]

See also: List of Pharaohs by Period and Dynasty

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Part of a series on the

History of Egypt
 Prehistoric Egypt pre–3150 BC
Ancient Egypt
Early Dynastic Period 3150–2686 BC
Old Kingdom 2686–2181 BC
1st Intermediate Period 2181–2055 BC
Middle Kingdom 2055–1650 BC
2nd Intermediate Period 1650–1550 BC
New Kingdom 1550–1069 BC
3rd Intermediate Period 1069–664 BC
Late Period 664–332 BC
Greco-Roman Egypt
Argead and Ptolemaic dynasties 332–30 BC
Roman and Byzantine Egypt 30 BC–641 AD
Sasanian Egypt 619–629
Medieval Egypt
Rashidun Egypt 641–661
Umayyad Egypt 661–750
Abbasid Egypt 750–935
Tulunid dynasty 868–905
Ikhshidid dynasty 935–969
Fatimid dynasty 969–1171
Ayyubid dynasty 1171–1250
Mamluk dynasties 1250–1517
Early modern Egypt
Ottoman Egypt 1517–1867
French occupation 1798–1801
Muhammad Ali dynasty 1805–1953
Khedivate of Egypt 1867–1914
Late Modern Egypt
British occupation 1882–1922
Sultanate of Egypt 1914–1922
Kingdom of Egypt 1922–1953
Republic 1953–present

Egypt portal

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The history of ancient Egypt spans the period from the early prehistoricsettlements of the
northern Nile valley to the Roman conquest, in 30 BC. The Pharaonic Period is dated from the 32nd
century BC, when Upper and Lower Egypt were unified, until the country fell under Macedonian rule,
in 332 BC.
 Contents

 1Chronology
 2Neolithic Egypt
o 2.1Neolithic period
o 2.2Prehistoric Egypt
 2.2.1Naqada II
 3Dynastic Egypt
o 3.1Early dynastic period
o 3.2Old Kingdom
o 3.3First Intermediate Period
o 3.4Middle Kingdom
o 3.5Second Intermediate Period and the Hyksos
o 3.6New Kingdom
 3.6.1Eighteenth Dynasty
 3.6.2Nineteenth Dynasty
 3.6.3Twentieth Dynasty
o 3.7Third Intermediate Period
o 3.8Late Period
o 3.9Persian domination
o 3.10Ptolemaic dynasty
 4References
 5Further reading
o 5.1Pharaonic Egypt
o 5.2Ptolemaic Egypt
 6External links

Chronology[edit]
Note
For alternative 'revisions' to the chronology of Egypt, see Egyptian chronology.
Egypt's history is split into several different periods according to the rulingdynasty of
each pharaoh. The dating of events is still a subject of research. The conservative dates are not
supported by any reliable absolute date for a span of about three millennia. The following is the
list according to conventional Egyptian chronology.

 Prehistoric Egypt (Prior to 3100 BC)

 Naqada III ("the protodynastic period"; approximately 3100–3000 BC)
 Early Dynastic Period (First–Second Dynasties)
 Old Kingdom (Third–Sixth Dynasties)
 First Intermediate Period (Seventh or Eighth–Eleventh Dynasties)
 Middle Kingdom (Twelfth–Thirteenth Dynasties)
 Second Intermediate Period (Fourteenth–Seventeenth Dynasties)
 New Kingdom (Eighteenth–Twentieth Dynasties)
 Third Intermediate Period (also known as the Libyan Period; Twenty-first–Twenty-
fifth Dynasties)
 Late Period (Twenty-sixth–Thirty-first Dynasties)
 Ptolemaic Egypt (305-30 BC)

Neolithic Egypt[edit]
Neolithic period[edit]
The Nile has been the lifeline for Egyptian culture since nomadic hunter-gatherers began living
along it during thePleistocene. Traces of these early people appear in the form of artefacts and
rock carvings along the terraces of the Nile and in the oases. To the Egyptians the Nile meant
life and the desert meant death, though the desert did provide them protection from invaders.
Along the Nile in the 12th millennium, an Upper Paleolithic grain-grinding culture using the
earliest type of sickle blades had replaced the culture of hunting, fishing, and hunter-
gatherers using stone tools. Evidence also indicates human habitation and cattle herding in the
southwestern corner of Egypt near the Sudan border before the 8th millennium BC.
Despite this, the idea of an independent bovine domestication event in Africa must be
abandoned because subsequent evidence gathered over a period of thirty years has failed to
corroborate this.[1]
The oldest-known domesticated cattle remains in Africa are from the Faiyum c. 4400
BC.[2] Geological evidence and computer climate modeling studies suggest that natural climate
changes around the 8th millennium BC began to desiccate the extensive pastoral lands of North
Africa, eventually forming the Sahara by the 25th century BC.
Continued desiccation forced the early ancestors of the Egyptians to settle around the Nile more
permanently and forced them to adopt a more sedentary lifestyle. However, the period
from 9th to the 6th millennium BC has left very little in the way of archaeological evidence.
Prehistoric Egypt[edit]
Main article: Prehistoric Egypt
Further information: Naqada

A Gerzeh culture vase decorated with gazelles, on display at the Louvre.

The Nile valley of Egypt was basically uninhabitable until the work of clearing and irrigating the
land along the banks was started.[3] However it appears that this clearance and irrigation was
largely under way by the 6th millennium. By that time, Nile society was already engaged in
organized agriculture and the construction of large buildings.[4]
At this time, Egyptians in the southwestern corner of Egypt were herding cattle and also
constructing large buildings. Mortar was in use by the 4th millennium. The people of the valley
and the Nile Delta were self-sufficient and were raising barleyand emmer, an early variety of
wheat, and stored it in pits lined with reed mats.[5]They raised cattle, goats and pigs and they
wove linen and baskets.[5] Prehistory continues through this time, variously held to begin with
the Amratian culture.
Between 5500 BC and the 31st century BC, small settlements flourished along the Nile, whose
delta empties into the Mediterranean Sea.
The Tasian culture was the next to appear; it existed in Upper Egypt starting about 4500 BC.
This group is named for the burials found at Deir Tasa, a site on the east bank of the Nile
between Asyut and Akhmim. The Tasian culture is notable for producing the earliest blacktop-
ware, a type of red and brown pottery painted black on its top and interior.[6]
The Badari culture, named for the Badari site near Deir Tasa, followed the Tasian; however,
similarities cause many to avoid differentiating between them at all. The Badari culture continued
to produce the kind of pottery called blacktop-ware (although its quality was much improved over
previous specimens), and was assigned the sequence dating numbers between 21 and
29.[7] The significant difference, however, between the Tasian and Badari, which prevents
scholars from completely merging the two, is that Badari sites are Chalcolithic while the Tasian
sites remained Neolithic and are thus considered technically part of the Stone Age.[7]

Mesopotamian king as Master of Animals on the Gebel el-Arak Knife, dated to the Naqada II period
circa 3300-3200 BC, Abydos, Egypt. Louvre Museum, reference E 11517. This work of art both shows
the influence of Mesopotamia on Egypt at an early date, and the state of Mesopotamian royal
iconography during the Uruk period.[8][9]

The Amratian culture is named after the site of el-Amreh, about 120 kilometres (75 mi) south of
Badari. El-Amreh was the first site where this culture was found unmingled with the later Gerzeh
culture. However, this period is better attested atNagada, and so is also referred to as the
"Naqada I" culture.[10] Black-topped ware continued to be produced, but white cross-line ware, a
type of pottery decorated with close parallel white lines crossed by another set of close parallel
white lines, began to be produced during this time. The Amratian period falls between S.D. 30
and 39.[11] Newly excavated objects indicate that trade between Upper and Lower Egypt existed
at this time. A stone vase from the north was found at el-Amreh, and copper, which is not
present in Egypt, was apparently imported from the Sinai Peninsula or
perhaps Nubia. Obsidian[12] and an extremely small amount of gold[11] were both definitively
imported from Nubia during this time. Trade with the oases was also likely.[12]
Naqada II[edit]
The Gerzeh culture ("Naqada II"), named after the site of el-Gerzeh, was the next stage in
cultural development, and it was during this time that the foundation for ancient Egypt was laid.
The Gerzeh culture was largely an unbroken development out of the Amratian, starting in
the Nile Delta and moving south through Upper Egypt; however, it failed to dislodge the
Amratian in Nubia.[13] The Gerzeh culture coincided with a significant drop in rainfall[13] and
farming produced the vast majority of food.[13] With increased food supplies, the populace
adopted a much more sedentary lifestyle, and the larger settlements grew to cities of about 5000
residents.[13] It was in this time that the city dwellers started using adobe to build their
cities.[13] Copper instead of stone was increasingly used to make tools[13] and
weaponry.[14] Silver,gold, lapis lazuli (imported from Badakhshan in what is now Afghanistan),
and Egyptian faience were used ornamentally,[15]and the cosmetic palettes used for eye paint
since the Badari culture began to be adorned with reliefs.[14]
By the 33rd century BC, just before the First Dynasty of Egypt, Egypt was divided into two
kingdoms known from later times as Upper Egypt to the south and Lower Egypt to the
north.[16] The dividing line was drawn roughly in the area of modernCairo.

Dynastic Egypt[edit]
Dynasties of Ancient Egypt

All years are BC

Early[show]

Old Kingdom[show]

First Intermediate[show]

Middle Kingdom[show]

Second Intermediate[show]

New Kingdom[show]

Third Intermediate[show]

Late Period[show]

Ptolemaic (Hellenistic)[show]

See also: List of Pharaohs by Period and Dynasty

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Early dynastic period[edit]

Main article: Early Dynastic Period (Egypt)
Stela of the Second Dynasty Pharaoh Nebra, displaying the hieroglyph for his Horus name within
a serekh surmounted byHorus. On display at theMetropolitan Museum of Art.

The historical records of ancient Egypt begin with Egypt as a unified state, which occurred
sometime around 3150 BC. According to Egyptian tradition,Menes, thought to have unified
Upper and Lower Egypt, was the first king. This Egyptian culture, customs, art expression,
architecture, and social structure were closely tied to religion, remarkably stable, and changed
little over a period of nearly 3000 years.
Egyptian chronology, which involves regnal years, began around this time. The conventional
chronology was accepted during the twentieth century, but it does not include any of the major
revision proposals that also have been made in that time. Even within a single work,
archaeologists often offer several possible dates, or even several whole chronologies as
possibilities. Consequently, there may be discrepancies between dates shown here and in
articles on particular rulers or topics related to ancient Egypt. There also are several possible
spellings of the names. Typically, Egyptologists divide the history of pharaonic civilization using
a schedule laid out first by Manetho's Aegyptiaca, which was written during the Ptolemaic
Kingdom in the third century BC.
Prior to the unification of Egypt, the land was settled with autonomous villages. With the early
dynasties, and for much of Egypt's history thereafter, the country came to be known as the Two
Lands. The pharaohs established a national administration and appointed royal governors.
According to Manetho, the first pharaoh was Menes, but archeological findings support the view
that the first ruler to claim to have united the two lands was Narmer, the final king of the Naqada
III period. His name is known primarily from the famous Narmer Palette, whose scenes have
been interpreted as the act of uniting Upper and Lower Egypt. Menes is now thought to be one
of the titles of Hor-Aha, the second pharaoh of the First Dynasty.
Funeral practices for the elite resulted in the construction of mastabas, which later became
models for subsequent Old Kingdom constructions such as the step pyramid, thought to have
originated during the Third Dynasty of Egypt.
Old Kingdom[edit]
Main article: Old Kingdom of Egypt

Greywacke statue of the pharaohMenkaure and his queen consort,Khamerernebty II. Originally from
his Giza temple, now on display at theMuseum of Fine Arts, Boston.

The Old Kingdom is most commonly regarded as spanning the period of time when Egypt was
ruled by the Third Dynasty through to the Sixth Dynasty (2686–2181 BCE). The royal capital of
Egypt during this period was located at Memphis, whereDjoser (2630–2611 BCE) established
his court.
The Old Kingdom is perhaps best known, however, for the large number ofpyramids, which were
constructed at this time as pharaonic burial places. For this reason, this epoch is frequently
referred to as "the Age of the Pyramids." The first notable pharaoh of the Old Kingdom was
Djoser of the Third Dynasty, who ordered the construction of the first pyramid, the Pyramid of
Djoser, in Memphis' necropolis ofSaqqara.
It was in this era that formerly independent states became nomes (districts) ruled solely by the
pharaoh. Former local rulers were forced to assume the role ofnomarch (governor) or work
as tax collectors. Egyptians in this era worshiped the pharaoh as a god, believing that he
ensured the annual flooding of the Nile that was necessary for their crops.
The Old Kingdom and its royal power reached their zenith under the Fourth Dynasty.Sneferu,
the dynasty's founder, is believed to have commissioned at least three pyramids; while his son
and successor Khufu (Greek Cheops) erected the Great Pyramid of Giza, Sneferu had more
stone and brick moved than any other pharaoh. Khufu, his son Khafra (Greek Chephren), and
his grandson Menkaure (GreekMycerinus) all achieved lasting fame in the construction of
the Giza pyramid complex.
To organize and feed the manpower needed to create these pyramids required a centralized
government with extensive powers, and Egyptologists believe the Old Kingdom at this time
demonstrated this level of sophistication. Recent excavations near the pyramids led by Mark
Lehner have uncovered a large city that seems to have housed, fed and supplied the pyramid
workers. Although it was once believed that slaves built these monuments, a theory based
on The Exodus narrative of the Hebrew Bible, study of the tombs of the workmen, who oversaw
construction on the pyramids, has shown they were built by a corvée of peasants drawn from
across Egypt. They apparently worked while the annual flood covered their fields, as well as a
very large crew of specialists, including stonecutters, painters, mathematicians and priests.
The Fifth Dynasty began with Userkaf c. 2495 BC and was marked by the growing importance of
the cult of the sun god Ra. Consequently, less effort was devoted to the construction of pyramid
complexes than during the Fourth Dynasty and more to the construction of sun temples
in Abusir. The decoration of pyramid complexes grew more elaborate during the dynasty and its
last king, Unas, was the first to have the Pyramid Texts inscribed in his pyramid.
Egypt's expanding interests in trade goods such as ebony, incense such
as myrrh and frankincense, gold, copper and other useful metals compelled the ancient
Egyptians to navigate the open seas. Evidence from the pyramid of Sahure, second king of the
dynasty, shows that a regular trade existed with the Syrian coast to procure cedar wood.
Pharaohs also launched expeditions to the famed Land of Punt, possibly the Horn of Africa, for
ebony, ivory and aromatic resins.
During the Sixth Dynasty (2345–2181 BCE), the power of pharaohs gradually weakened in favor
of powerful nomarchs. These no longer belonged to the royal family and their charge became
hereditary, thus creating local dynasties largely independent from the central authority of the
pharaoh. Internal disorders set in during the incredibly long reign of Pepi II Neferkare (2278–
2184 BCE) towards the end of the dynasty. His death, certainly well past that of his intended
heirs, might have created succession struggles and the country slipped into civil wars mere
decades after the close of Pepi II's reign. The final blow came when the 4.2 kiloyear event struck
the region in the 22nd century BC, producing consistently low Nile flood levels.[17] The result was
the collapse of the Old Kingdom followed by decades of famine and strife.
First Intermediate Period[edit]
Main article: First Intermediate Period of Egypt

Pottery model of a house used in a burial from the First Intermediate Period, on display at the Royal
Ontario Museum.

After the fall of the Old Kingdom came a roughly 200-year stretch of time known as the First
Intermediate Period, which is generally thought to include a relatively obscure set of pharaohs
running from the end of the Sixth to the Tenth and most of the Eleventh Dynasties. Most of these
were likely local monarchs who did not hold much power outside of their nome. There are a
number of texts known as "Lamentations" from the early period of the subsequent Middle
Kingdom that may shed some light on what happened during this period. Some of these texts
reflect on the breakdown of rule, others allude to invasion by "Asiatic bowmen". In general the
stories focus on a society where the natural order of things in both society and nature was
overthrown.
It is also highly likely that it was during this period that all of the pyramid and tomb complexes
were looted. Further lamentation texts allude to this fact, and by the beginning of the Middle
Kingdom mummies are found decorated with magical spells that were once exclusive to the
pyramid of the kings of the Sixth Dynasty.
By 2160 BC, a new line of pharaohs, the Ninth and Tenth Dynasties, consolidated Lower
Egypt from their capital inHeracleopolis Magna. A rival line, the Eleventh Dynasty based
at Thebes, reunited Upper Egypt, and a clash between the rival dynasties was inevitable.
Around 2055 BC, the Theban forces defeated the Heracleopolitan pharaohs and reunited the
Two Lands. The reign of its first pharaoh, Mentuhotep II, marks the beginning of the Middle
Kingdom.
Middle Kingdom[edit]
Main article: Middle Kingdom of Egypt

An Osiris statue of Mentuhotep II, the founder of the Middle Kingdom

The Middle Kingdom is the period in the history of ancient Egypt stretching from the 39th regnal
year of Mentuhotep II of the Eleventh Dynasty to the end of theThirteenth Dynasty, roughly
between 2030 and 1650 BC.
The period comprises two phases, the Eleventh Dynasty, which ruled from Thebes, and then
the Twelfth Dynasty, whose capital was Lisht. These two dynasties were originally considered
the full extent of this unified kingdom, but some historians now[18] consider the first part of
the Thirteenth Dynasty to belong to the Middle Kingdom.
The earliest pharaohs of the Middle Kingdom traced their origin to two nomarchs of
Thebes, Intef the Elder, who served a Heracleopolitan pharaoh of the Tenth Dynasty, and his
successor, Mentuhotep I. The successor of the latter, Intef I, was the first Theban nomarch to
claim a Horus name and thus the throne of Egypt. He is considered the first pharaoh of the
Eleventh Dynasty. His claims brought the Thebans into conflict with the rulers of the Tenth
Dynasty. Intef I and his brother Intef II undertook several campaigns northwards and finally
captured the important nome of Abydos.
Warfare continued intermittently between the Thebean and Heracleapolitan dynasties until the
39th regnal year of Mentuhotep II, second successor of Intef II. At this point, the
Herakleopolitans were defeated and the Theban dynasty consolidated their rule over Egypt.
Mentuhotep II is known to have commanded military campaigns south into Nubia, which had
gained its independence during the First Intermediate Period. There is also evidence for military
actions against theSouthern Levant. The king reorganized the country and placed a vizier at the
head of civil administration for the country.
Mentuhotep II was succeeded by his son, Mentuhotep III, who organized an expedition to Punt.
His reign saw the realization of some of the finest Egyptian carvings. Mentuhotep III was
succeeded by Mentuhotep IV, the final pharaoh of this dynasty. Despite being absent from
various lists of pharaohs, his reign is attested from a few inscriptions in Wadi Hammamat that
record expeditions to the Red Sea coast and to quarry stone for the royal monuments.
The leader of this expedition was his vizier Amenemhat, who is widely assumed to be the future
Pharaoh Amenemhat I, the first pharaoh of the Twelfth Dynasty. Amenemhat is therefore
assumed by some Egyptologists to have either usurped the throne or assumed power after
Mentuhotep IV died childless.
Amenemhat I built a new capital for Egypt, Itjtawy, thought to be located near the present-day
Lisht, although Manetho claims the capital remained at Thebes. Amenemhat forcibly pacified
internal unrest, curtailed the rights of the nomarchs, and is known to have launched at least one
campaign into Nubia. His son Senusret I continued the policy of his father to recapture Nubia
and other territories lost during the First Intermediate Period. The Libu were subdued under his
forty-five year reign and Egypt's prosperity and security were secured.
Senusret III (1878–1839 BC) was a warrior king, leading his troops deep into Nubia, and built a
series of massive forts throughout the country to establish Egypt's formal boundaries with the
unconquered areas of its territory. Amenemhat III(1860–1815 BC) is considered the last great
pharaoh of the Middle Kingdom.
Egypt's population began to exceed food production levels during the reign of Amenemhat III,
who then ordered the exploitation of the Faiyum and increased mining operations in the Sinai
Peninsula. He also invited settlers from Western Asiato Egypt to labor on Egypt's monuments.
Late in his reign, the annual floods along the Nile began to fail, further straining the resources of
the government. The Thirteenth Dynasty and Fourteenth Dynasty witnessed the slow decline of
Egypt into theSecond Intermediate Period, in which some of the settlers invited by Amenemhat
III would seize power as the Hyksos.
Second Intermediate Period and the Hyksos[edit]
Main articles: Second Intermediate Period of Egypt and Hyksos
 Statuette of Merankhre Mentuhotep, a minor pharaoh of the Sixteenth Dynasty, reigning over the
Theban region c. 1585 BC.

The Second Intermediate Period marks a period when Egypt once again fell into disarray
between the end of the Middle Kingdom and the start of the New Kingdom. This period is best
known as the time the Hyksos made their appearance in Egypt, the reigns of its kings
comprising the Fifteenth Dynasty.
The Thirteenth Dynasty proved unable to hold onto the long land of Egypt, and a provincial
family of Levantine descent located in the marshes of the eastern Delta atAvaris broke away
from the central authority to form the Fourteenth Dynasty. The splintering of the land most likely
happened shortly after the reigns of the powerfulThirteenth Dynasty Pharaohs Neferhotep
I and Sobekhotep IV c. 1720 BC.[19][20]
While the Fourteenth Dynasty was Levantine, the Hyksos first appeared in Egypt c. 1650 BC
when they took control of Avaris and rapidly moved south to Memphis, thereby ending the
Thirteenth and Fourteenth Dynasties. The outlines of the traditional account of the "invasion" of
the land by the Hyksos is preserved in the Aegyptiaca of Manetho, who records that during this
time the Hyksos overran Egypt, led by Salitis, the founder of the Fifteenth Dynasty. More
recently, however, the idea of a simple migration, with little or no violence involved, has gained
some support.[21] Under this theory, the Egyptian rulers of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth
dynasties were unable to stop these new migrants from traveling to Egypt from the Levant
because their kingdoms were struggling to cope with various domestic problems, including
possibly famine and plague.[22] Be it military or peaceful, the weakened state of the Thirteenth
and Fourteenth Dynasty kingdoms could explain why they rapidly fell to the emerging Hyksos
power.
The Hyksos princes and chieftains ruled in the eastern Delta with their local Egyptian vassals.
The Fifteenth Dynasty rulers established their capital and seat of government at Memphis and
their summer residence at Avaris.
The Hyksos kingdom was centered in the eastern Nile Delta and central Egypt but relentlessly
pushed south for the control of central and Upper Egypt. Around the time Memphis fell to the
Hyksos, the native Egyptian ruling house in Thebes declared its independence and set itself up
as the Sixteenth Dynasty. Another short lived dynasty might have done the same in central
Egypt, profiting from the power vacuum created by the fall of the 13th dynasty and forming
the Abydos Dynasty.[23]
By 1600 BC, the Hyksos had successfully moved south in central Egypt, eliminating the Abydos
Dynasty and directly threatening the Sixteenth Dynasty. The latter was to prove unable to resist
and Thebes fell to the Hyksos for a very short period c. 1580 BC.[23] The Hyksos rapidly withdrew
to the north and Thebes regained some independence under theSeventeenth Dynasty. From
then on, Hyksos relations with the south seem to have been mainly of a commercial nature,
although Theban princes appear to have recognized the Hyksos rulers and may possibly have
provided them with tribute for a period.
The Seventeenth Dynasty was to prove the salvation of Egypt and would eventually lead the war
of liberation that drove the Hyksos back into Asia. The two last kings of this dynasty
were Seqenenre Tao and Kamose. Ahmose I completed the conquest and expulsion of the
Hyksos from the Nile Delta, restored Theban rule over the whole of Egypt and successfully
reasserted Egyptian power in its formerly subject territories of Nubia and the Southern
Levant.[24] His reign marks this beginning of the Eighteenth Dynasty and the New Kingdom.
New Kingdom[edit]
Main article: New Kingdom of Egypt
Possibly as a result of the foreign rule of the Hyksos during the Second Intermediate Period, the
New Kingdom saw Egypt attempt to create a buffer between the Levant and Egypt, and attain its
greatest territorial extent. It expanded far south intoNubia and held wide territories in the Near
East. Egyptian armies fought Hittite armies for control of modern-day Syria.
Eighteenth Dynasty[edit]

Golden mask from the mummy of Tutankhamun

This was a time of great wealth and power for Egypt. Some of the most important and best-
known pharaohs ruled at this time, such as Hatshepsut. Hatshepsut is unusual as she was a
female pharaoh, a rare occurrence in Egyptian history. She was an ambitious and competent
leader, extending Egyptian trade south into present-day Somalia and north into the
Mediterranean. She ruled for twenty years through a combination of widespread propaganda
and deft political skill. Her co-regent and successor Thutmose III ("the Napoleon of Egypt")
expanded Egypt's army and wielded it with great success. However, late in his reign, he ordered
her name hacked out from her monuments. He fought against Asiatic people and was the most
successful of Egyptian pharaohs.Amenhotep III built extensively at the temple
of Karnak including the Luxor Temple, which consisted of two pylons, a colonnade behind the
new temple entrance, and a new temple to the goddess Maat.
During the reign of Thutmose III (c. 1479–1425 BC), pharaoh, originally referring to the king's
palace, became a form of address for the person who was king.[25]
One of the best-known 18th Dynasty pharaohs is Amenhotep IV, who changed his name
to Akhenaten in honor of the god Aten. His exclusive worship of the Aten, sometimes
called Atenism, is often seen as history's first instance of monotheism. Atenism and several
changes that accompanied it seriously disrupted Egyptian society. Akhenaten built a new capital
at the site of Amarna, which gives his reign and the few that followed their modern name,
the Amarna Period. Amarna art diverged significantly from the previous conventions ofEgyptian
art. Under a series of successors, of whom the longest reigning
were Tutankhamun and Horemheb. Under them, worship of the old gods was revived and much
of the art and monuments that were created during Akhenaten's reign was defaced or destroyed.
When Horemheb died without an heir, he named as his successor Ramesses I, founder of
theNineteenth Dynasty.
Nineteenth Dynasty[edit]

Egypt and its world in 1300 BC.

Colossal depictions of Ramesses IIat one of the Abu Simbel temples.

Ramesses I reigned for two years and was succeeded by his son Seti I. Seti I carried on the
work of Horemheb in restoring power, control, and respect to Egypt. He also was responsible for
creating the temple complex at Abydos.
Arguably Ancient Egypt's power as a nation-state peaked during the reign of Ramesses II ("the
Great") of the Nineteenth Dynasty. He reigned for 67 years from the age of 18 and carried on his
father Seti I's work and created many more splendid temples, such as that of Abu Simbel
temples on the Nubian border. He sought to recover territories in the